Heart:
"Wake up...my dear child please wake up!" a voice beckoned, sounding so close and yet so far.
Windwing caverns grew around me as I stepped forward, ever twisting and turning. Voices echoed just out of reach as I searched the shadows.
"Where are you?" I called, "Who are you?"
"It's time you remember before it's too late!" The voice warned ugently, "I don't have much more time young one!"
"How can I find you?"
"You have walked through our realm twice since you first left, each time with new allies to stop the sorceror that ruled here," it tried to offer help.
Flashes of sprawling mountains, a royal palace, and the resting stone of the star sword all rushed through my mind.
"I don't understand..." I hesitated in disbelief, "What do you want me to remember?"
"Find your way back and I can help you to understand!" the voice promised with a piercing roar breaking through the howing winds, emerging from deep within the caverns, shattering the walls that had grown around me.
Then a second roar ripped unwillingly from my own throat just before I snapped awake again.
"What's the matter girly-girl?" I heard my twin ask as I dropped the book I had been looking through.
I shook my head, trying to figure out what had just transpired. A strong hand rested on my shoulder in an attempt to support me as I came back to them.
"Take it easy friend," Grin reassured.
"I...I think I'm okay now," I said shakily as I bent down to pick up the book.
On the cover of the pages a fierce dragon spread it's wings out, preparing to unleash a mighty flame. As I reached my hand out to pick it up I noticed shimmering on my skin. As I tried to brush it off I found it wasn't working as my fingers brushed against smooth scales.
"Heart, what happened?" Nosedive asked, noticing my panicked expression.
"I, I don't know!" I admitted still trying to get the scales off of my hand.
"We'd better get back and find Tanya," Nosedive insisted.
I nodded, "I'm sorry. I don't know what's happening to me."
"It's not your fault," Grin assured me.
"Do you think this is a clue?" Nosedive looked over the book I had been looking through.
"I think it's just a fantasy book here," I mentioned, but Nosedive had already bought it from his friends Thrash and Mookie.
"You didn't have to do that Dive," I protested when he returned to us at the door.
"If this triggered something we need it, maybe it's a weird spell book from another world," Nosedive argued.
"Weirder things have happened," Grin agreed, "Just be careful."
Soon we were back at the Pond. Nosedive made no time at all finding Tanya in her lab, pulling me along worriedly. His anxiousness increased when he noticed the scales were now on both of my hands.
"We don't know what happened! One minute we were looking through some books and comics, the next thing we knew Heart had completely zoned out on us. When she snapped out of it these scales were growing on her hand!" Nosedive explained, "Can you find out what's causing it? Is it this book?"
Nosedive offered the book he had purchased as though it were the culprit without confirmation.
"Calm down Nosedive, we'll figure this out," Tanya assured as she looked over my hands.
In minutes we were in the infirmary. Tanya had me sitting on one of the beds while scanning me with the medicom.
"Why do I feel like I live here more than my own room at times," I tried to laugh.
It wasn't long before Duke found us in the infirmary.
"What happened?" He asked as he approached me, "Why didn't ya call me?"
"We didn't want to worry you until we knew what was going on," I said, feeling a bit confused myself, why hadn't I called him first?
He knew it was a rushed answer.
Nosedive explained what happened while I was urged to relax while I was being scanned still.
"You think it was this book?" Duke asked picking it up and flipping through it curiously.
Nothing happened.
"I don't think that book caused it," I said, noticing the scales spreading up my arms.
Seeing the scales growing up my body I recalled the trance I had been in. In my mind I heard the voice calling to me again. Visions rapidly flashed in my eyes. First the caverns, then a large creature emerging from it's depths. Another roar echoed the one I let out internally. Then I was back, but this time Duke caught me as I nearly fell from the bed.
"Heart, what's happenin' to you?" He asked me gently as he set me securely back on the bed.
"According to the scanner, her body is changing. Those scales give off a magic reading. The book however does not," Tanya confirmed.
"So then what's causing it?" Nosedive asked.
"I'm not really sure," Tanya answered uncertainly.
As everyone talked around me, I couldn't help but feel pressure rising. It was as though my own body were beginning to broil beneath the scales that tried to encase me. My vision began to blur from the tension and heat.
"Guys...?" I tried to say, but my voice was oddly strained.
Fortunately the scanner was still on me and alerted them to my rising body temperature. Duke rested a hand on my forehead, feeling how hot my skin was. I tried to sit up, only to be held carefully pinned down to the bed.
Again the images flashed through my mind, the creature seeming closer and the roaring floading my ears now as I screamed.
"Heart!" Duke called to me, waking me from this third trance.
Tanya was trying to cool my head with a cold cloth, but the water seemed to simmer instead. I tried to pull away from their grip, desperately attempting to get to my feet.
"Heart you need to relax!" Tanya urged.
"I need to find out what's calling me!" I struggled to pull free.
"Your memories," Duke breathed in response, loosening his grip on my shoulder.
My head ached as I tried to get up.
"I'm tired of everyone examining my head!" I spat angrily as my fever seemed to rise.
"Sweetheart, I didn't mean to-"
"I know, but none of you know how it feels to have everyone guessing what I may be going through! Everyone here has a past that shaped who they are, memories to return to, a foundation, a childhood!"
Duke only looked at me with shock washing over him.
"I know there are parts of your past you regret, but at least you have something!"
"I'm sorry Heart...I jus' want to help ya through this...I don't want to see ya hurtin' like this ," he said gently.
I sat up, stumbling in the process as I tried to get to my feet. Duke offered a hand to help me. I wanted to take his hand, but I held back when I noticed claws growing from my fingertips. Immediately I pulled my fingers into clenched fists, hoping no one would notice.
"I...I think I need to go to the other Anaheim. Maybe if I use the Star Sword I can get there and find what's calling me," I told them.
"You're not goin' alone," Duke said firmly.
I looked up at him wearily, "Duke?"
"We're going to face this as a team," Nosedive agreed.
"We don't know what we'll find..." I protested yet with a smile creeping over me.
"Know we don't," Duke admitted with a smirk of his own showing, "but that doesn't matter. We might now know what occurred in your past, but we are part of your present. We will find the answers together."
At last I gave in and leaned into his open arms. He then swept me up in his grasp.
"We'll go get ready, can you guys get the others?" Duke asked as he carried me to our room.
Once we were in our room Duke to set me down so I could get dressed. Though I stumbled I found my way to my dresser and found the gear I wanted to wear. For some reason instead of my usual battle gear I looked to the box containing the thief outfit Duke had given me when we faced Falcone together. Quickly I slipped off my casual clothes to only reveal the scales were now spreading over my lower torso and legs. Immediately I covered them up with the burgundy and black suit he'd given me. The whole time my back had been facing him. though I could feel he had seen.
"What if this doesn't go away?" I asked as he hugged me from behind.
"Then I'll still love ya sweetheart," he answered as he kissed my head.
He then looked over the suit I had chosen to wear.
"This feels more comfortable right now," I blushed.
He smiled still and then pulled out his suit that matched. Once he was dressed he approached me again, resting a hand against my cheek, "We don't get to wear these often do we?"
"It's thanks to you sweetheart, that I can even wear this comfortably."
Duke:
This in a way forced me to pull her close to me for a moment.
"Fate is such a strange thing," I said softly as I held her even tighter.
"But what if my past reveals something that changes our present?" She asked me fearfully.
I looked at her with a steady smile, "Then just as you stood by me, I will stand by you."
"I feel like something is trying to pull me away," she finally admitted me.
"No matter what it is, it won't steal ya from me," I promised her.
Before long we were all gathered in the main room. Wildwing had opened up the safe with our treasures obtained throughout our adventures. I reached out to grab the Star Sword, but then paused, "Maybe you should weild it Heart, maybe the portal will take us where you need to go."
Nervously Heart grabbed the hilt of the sword, yet it did not glow as it had for me when I had drawn it. I remembered what others had said about her holding it before, and the outcome when she'd fought with it anyway. I found myself closing a hand over hers. Instantly a light traced it's self around us.
"Star Sword, lend your power to Heart. She needs your magic to find the answers she seeks," I requested as the light glowed around her now, accepting my command.
"Please," Heart requested, her voice shaking slightly, "take us where the voice is calling me from."
We all stood closer to her, each carefully placing a supportive hand on her shoulders, arms, hands, and head. Then in an instant a blinding light engulfed us and we were then standing before the caverns that the Star Sword called it's home. The Minotaur we had fought stood by the stone pedestal and looked at us cautiously.
"Wielder of the Star Sword I will not battle against you this time," he said, lowering his stone club.
"Why would it bring us here?" Nosedive wondered aloud.
"Let's see if we can find anything," Wildwing suggested as we approached the steps of the cavern.
Heart stood near the pedestal, an uncertain expression washed over her. As we walked up the steps I watched as she looked upon the wall as thought trying to remember something. Then, her eyes widening she walked over and placed a hand on a torch to pull it. This opened a wide door to a carved entrance of the caverns going quite deep.
Heart:
I tried to focus, but I could feel the scales spreading up my torso now, crawling up my chest and back. Beneath my suit it felt even hotter than before.
I soon felt a very strong hand on my shoulder, as though trying to keep me stable.
"Is the voice you mentioned before perhaps trying to call to you still?" Grin suggested helpfully.
I closed my eyes trying to hear it, but to no avail. Frustrated I shook my head.
"Try calling to it?" Wildwing offered as he walked up beside me.
So I stepped forward in front of the stone pedestal, calling out, "If you're here please tell us where you are! You called me here so I could find you!"
Suddenly a pained roar errupted from a pathway to the left of us. Though as the powerful cry reaced my ears I unwillingly dropped to my knees. The beastly cries resonated with me, and I felt a roar of my own trying to tear from my throat. I clenched my jaw, gritting my teeth to keep it within.
"Heart!" I heard Duke exclaim as I dropped the Star Sword as I fell.
I felt his warm hands grip my shoulders and I winced. Somehow his touch made them feel even warmer.
"They're spreading aren't they?" He asked me quietly.
"I'm okay," I insisted as I struggled to get to my feet, "Let's go!"
Duke picked up the Star Sword and attached it to his own belt for now.
"So we're looking for a creature of some kind?" Grin enquired.
I nodded my head as we walked through the twists and turns of the caverns.
"What kind of creature?" Mallory questioned.
"I...I'm not sure..." I said, feeling increasingly feverish.
My vision blured and I felt myself mistepping as we continued.
Without a word I felt myself being swept up off my feet and into his arms again. Out of frustration I tried to get free, but he only tightened his grip as he stepped forward. None of the others were convinced either. Tanya rested a hand on my forehead for just a moment before exclaiming, "You're burning up!"
"We need to get you home," Wildwing said sternly.
"No!" I protested desperately, "That won't help! I have to find out what it wants!"
"Okay sis, but please put your trust in us, okay?" Wildwing offered worriedly.
"I can't go back now," I pleaded, "it won't get any better if I run away now!"
"We understand, but let us help ya get there okay?" Duke said softly.
"I just want things to go back to how they were, I want to go home and go on as a team. I don't want to change," I found myself succumbing to the heat, tears brimming my eyes from frustration and fear.
"We'll get through this," Grin assured, "Just try to focus on what's calling us here for now."
"You're close," a voice echoed urgently in my head, "Come to me, my dear child. Do not be afraid."
I then looked ahead to see a barrier standing before us. The veil of light shimmered like crystals dancing with sunlight. My heartbeat raced and the heat I felt finally began to wash away slowly.
"There," I said shakily pointing towards the gate before us.
"Alright," Duke said softly, "Let's get your memories back for you an' get ya back home."
In moments we were standing before the veil of light when I quietly pleaded, "Let us in together...please.?
"Of course," the voice responded as the veil parted to allow us entry.
As we each stepped inside we watced as the barrier sealed itself behind us. Then we turned ahead to find a large open cavern. It glistened with natural gems and crystals covering every inch of the room. Trees of shimmering precious stones reached towards the ceiling. A pool of clear, clean water rested beside a smooth hill in the center. This hill looked like it was covered in freshly fallen snow and further gems emerging from it's crest.
"Is that hill breathing guys?" Nosedive asked nervously.
Sure enough we all noticed as it moved slightly before it began to shift. Then I noticed wings tucked over it like arches protruding from the hillsides.
"A dragon?!" Tanya exclaimed fearfully.
I clung to Duke, feeling an aching sensation spreading through my back.
"I've got ya sweetheart," he assured me.
"Don't fight it dear one," the voice then spoke loudly from the hill, "This is who you really are."
"Who are you?" I demanded, startling the others, "How do you know who I am?"
My answer was given when the sleeping hill began to stir before us, roaring tiredly. Then it opened it's eyes to reveal an emerald like right eye, and a space that was now empty, though her gaze peircing as she looked upon us. The cavern shook as the creature carefully pushed itself up with it's front claws. Her head to her tail on the back were covered with a thick, snowy fur, with protruding crystal like spikes trailing her neck down to the tip of her tail. Her underbelly was encased with a gem like coat of silver, aquamarine, and sapphire.
"It's been so long since I've seen you my dear, dear child," a motherly, familiar voice said in tired disbelief.
This time, though her mouth did not move, we all could hear her clearly it seemed For everyone looked quite surprised by these words.
"Child?" Nosedive questioned, "But Heart is a human? How can a dragon be her mom?"
"The girl you seem to know is not her true self," she said sternly, "Nor was she ever a mere human."
I felt myself shaking in Duke's arms. As I looked up at the mythical creature I felt so unsure. A lost feeling washed through me. Was who I had become with my family a lie? What if I had to leave?
"I don't understand," I looked to her.
She then turned to the pool of water beside her, breathed a small blue flame upon it, and then waited a moment. Then a mirror like pond was revealed by the dispersing flames. Duke carried me over to it before setting me down gently to look into it with everyone.
"It's time for you to remember," she urged softly.
Our reflections washed away to reveal myself as a child. I was dressed in a hand made tunic bearing an emblem dipicting dragon wings on my back. I was twirling around, showing someone my hand stitching. On my right arm I carried a wooden shield I had crafted with my own tiny hands. On my back was a wooden sword to match, strapped to me with a leaf woven sheath. My hair was tossed into a ponytail of sorts to try and keep it out of my face as I ran.
"Heart?!" Nosedive exclaimed.
"She's so cute," Mallory laughed in spite of herself.
"I wonder if you knew Borg?" Wildwing pondered aloud.
Young Heart:
I was just barely eight years old when I had set out in search of what I had noticed outside of the small town I'd been staying in. Adults tried to stop me from leaving the gates that morning, warning me that an evil monster lurked beyond the city. While running from a guard trying to keep me in, I noticed an opening in the gate that perhaps something, or someone, small could slip through. I quickly dove out of the guard's reach and ran for the sliver I'd noticed in the gate. Sure enough I wiggled through after tossing my sword and shield over to locate once I was through.
Despite the cries from the guards calling me back, I picked up my hand crafted gear and charged forward for adventure. My searching the outside fields soon brought me to a small landmark of several large rocks, forming a nest of sorts. Though they towered over my head at the time, I found myself scaling them with my tiny hands. The stone scraped my fingers, but I pressed on upward. When I reached the top I could hear four seperate cries below inside the middle of the boulders.
I looked down to find that to my surprise there were four dragon hatchlings calling for their mother. Each baby dragon was as big a horse, and much bigger than me. Their newly formed scales shimmered like precious gems, sapphire, ruby, emerald, and topaz respectively. Their eyes shown like precious stones as well.
"Are you guys hungry?" I asked curiously, "Where's your mama?"
I looked around above my head to see if I could spot her somewhere. Yet I didn't see her. However I did see something troubling riding up to the nest of boulders. A figure dressed in crimson robes was quickly approaching with a sword at his belt.
Quickly I slid down the boulders, falling into the nest with the baby dragons. Desperately I tried to calm them down to still their cries. I tried to pet their heads to comfort them so not to draw the rider closer. With some effort they managed to understand my motions and fell silent. Then we waited quietly, hoping the rider would move on if he couldn't hear us.
"I know you're in there monsterous spawn!" The rider called out harshly.
I listened as he dismounted and approached the boulders. I could hear him looking for a way in. I looked to the four hatchlings, seeing panic wash over them as they wimpered.
"Shhhh," I pleaded gently, before scailing the stones again.
Just as I reached the top, a fierce roar nearly knocked me back down as a large dragon swooped in overhead, startling the rider below.
As I looked down, I would find a thin man dressed in crimson mage's robes, with some of deep blue beneath them. A yellow sash closed them. His angular face was framed with a dark brown goatee and side burns, with matching hair atop his head. His yellow gold eyes gleamed with greed as he sneered at the winged legend above us.
"So creature, you reveal yourself to me! That makes things easier!" The rider laughed as he drew an arrow and a bow.
I then noticed as he whispered something to the arrow before letting it fly. Swiftly it sung through the air, striking it's target's wing, and causing her to crash to the ground, causing it to tremble under her. As the mother collided with the Earth, I watched in frozen horrific awe as he prepared another spell, and a green light formed from his hand and over her eye.
"Stop it!" I shouted as Isuddenly broke free and jumped down, tackling him by his head.
"Why you little whelp!" He snarled while shoving me off of him, "How dare you interefere!"
When I tried to draw my sword, jumping back towards him he whispered a spell. In seconds a burst of dark energy knocked me back striking my chest and knocking the wind out of me.
Before I could shake this I watched as her eye appeared floating in his hand, enveloped in a green flame. Then with a chain he fastened it to his neck like a trophy.
Once he was finished with this task he began to reach for his sword. Without thinking, I yelled out as I jumped up, tackling him to the ground as energy began to burst around me, "I won't let you kill her!"
"Filthy brat! Get off of me at once! You will not protect these creatures!" The man scowled, pushing me off of him with the blunt of his sword.
He then walked over to me with a sneer in his eyes, "Whatever magic you posses will not be enough to combat the Lord of the Red Dragon! Now be silenced for your foolishness!"
With that he raised his sword over me as I looked up, eyes wide with fear as I tried to get up.
Yet when he went to attack, the mother had gotten to her feet,and suddenly pounced with a fierce roar at him as she stood with me beneath her forelegs protectively. His older eyes widened in disbelief and contempt as he looked up at her and glanced at me.
"Leave my children alone!" She commanded, "Including my daughter!"
Before she could attack him, the mage touched the gem like eye around his neck and disappeared, "I have what I came for! Do as you wish for now creature! However, rest assured that I will return here one day, and in due time, all will fear the name of Asteroth!"
The mother roared in frustration, swiping the air as he faded away.
Before we could react, we could hear soldiers from the nearby town approaching from over the hills.
"Please! You need to escape with your children before your nest is found!" I urged, getting to my feet.
"We don't have much time!" She argued angrily.
"I'll staul them, just find a new nest far from here so they won't hunt you anymore!" I commanded as I hurried over the hill.
Once over the crest I called out to the charging warriors, "They went that way!" I pointed in the opposite direction.
Most of them paused in confusion, while a few instinctively turned in the false direction.
Yet one remained riding in my direction. A young prince that we would later know as Borg. He swiftly rode up to me, offering me a hand up onto his horse. His concerned expression told me he could see the injuries I had from my scuffle with the lone sorceror.
"Why are you protecting them?" He asked curiously, "Are they not the ones that harmed you?"
I shook my head, unable to lie to him somehow, "No...they are not. They just want to be left alone, please your majesty!"
I stepped away and ran back to the nest fearfully. To my relief they had flown off. Yet as I turned to leave a swift wind nearly knocked me over as the mother came down in front of me with her babies sleeping on her back.
"Come with us!" She commanded gently.
Only briefly did I look back at the town I had been living in. Then without a second thought I climbed on her back, casting aside whatever I had known before then and trusted my instincts. The town I had come from had not been my first home, nor did I know any family to return to.
Once on her back, the dragon took me to the caverns looking out over a nearby kingdom, far from the town we'd flown from. There, she found an opening in the cave walls and created a new nest for her babies and herself. It was there that she asked me to stay with them as her own adopted daughter. Human or otherwise. It was there that I grew up. It was there that I learned about legends and magic. Upon hearing of the legends of the star sword, I would begin somewhat playing hide and seek with a minotaur guard in an attempt to catch a glimpse of the mystical blade. Then I would practice sword play with a wooden blade, all the while listening to tales of adventurers my mother would tell me. Over time I learned of other creatures along with the dragons, as well as how to fight the ones I needed to. While growing older, I would train in how to deal with poachers seeking out the dragons and their rare hydes.
When I was older, I found myself visiting the neighboring kingdom, where I would meet the young prince again, who had recently taken the throne. We soon became fast allies, and it was outlawed for true dragons to be hunted in his lands. For he had remembered me from that day we first met as children, and that the dragons had not only spared me, but had allowed me grow up alongside them peacefully. Somehow I had become a needed bridge between the people and these legendary creatures.
However, I never had returned to live among people for some reason. For whatever reason, I had felt safer, and more comfortable, living with who I now referred to as a mother and siblings that were the other dragons of her nest.
Besides, while the prince had accepted me, it seemed that most of his subjects had not. A few of them knew of my budding abilities at this point, and they feared my bond with the dragons. Some even tried to warn his majesty that I would betray them one day. This he never listened to, but it was enough to keep me living away from them still. When I heard these things, or saw the distrust in their eyes, I would just slip back to the caverns, trying to ignore the piercing through the shield I kept trying to say I had over me.
Every so often, I would catch sight of adventurers heading out on their quests, or fellow magic users. Yet I couldn't help but feel distant from them. My few attempts to share tales of adventure would be quickly met with distain, for they deemed my guarding such "beasts" as a far cry from heroics. Despite my respect for them, it seemed it was one sided. Despite a shared dangerous life style, many of them turned away from me. So I just remained in the caverns carrying out my self given mission.
"Aren't you lonely in these caverns dear one?" she asked me one day when I had returned from the palace, "Why not stay in the kingdom with Prince Borg?"
"Why would I be lonely?" I asked, puzzled by the question.
"I know we are dear to you, and you to us; but you must yearn for the companionship of others, friends to laugh with, perhaps a warm hand to hold? Even my old heart remembers what it feels like to love someone so very much," mother responded fondly.
"I'm fine, mother," I laughed softly, but even I could tell that it wasn't very convincing.
"Perhaps in time, I suppose?" mother teased gently, pulling me into a hug with her large wing, "perhaps someday someone out there in the world will steal you away?"
I hugged her back to feel her other wing reach over and catch a tear falling from my face, "Fine you say?"
"It...it's nothing...just a bad memory..." I said without explaining further.
Yet, by the time I barely reached the age of 17, things began to change. Now, I stood in a white sleeved, pirateesque blouse, a deep red vest, black pants, and knee high crimson topped boots.
I had just returned from the palace with my clothing a bit battered and torn it seemed. The skies were bleeding out in a deep red as I ran into the cavern to find Mother waiting expectantly.
"What is happening out there, dear one?" She asked me as though already expecting the worst.
"The kingdom's been invaded!" I answered in growing frustration, "a sorceror by the name of Asteroth arrived in Anaheim, and has taken over the palace! Prince Borg was able to escape, and I went to get the Star Sword to try and fight back...but, I don't think Asteroth is alone in his conquest!"
"Mother, leave this place with the younger dragons! Tell them to go into hiding until it's safe again!" I pleaded as I grasped the hilt of the sword, yet no energy emerged from it as I did.
"So this is where you were hiding all this time," a voice laughed wickedly from behind me.
I turned on my heel to see no one at the cavern mouth, or so I thought.
"Who's there?" I demanded as I shielded Mother, ready to defend her.
"I'm just a mere shadow," it snickered hungrily, "Looking for strange creatures with intriguing powers to quench my specific pallet. You've lead me to quite a bountiful feast indeed."
"Leave this place!" I ordered.
"What exactly can you do? You have no powers of your own, even the Star Sword doesn't recognize you as someone of worth," it mocked, "Or...am I mistaken child?"
" I will stop you!" I assured as the creature slithered toward us.
"Mother, please leave this place! Take your children and fly away!" I commanded as I charged into the fight.
With that I felt her take off behind me, her powerful wings creating a gust of wind through the caverns. In moments, she was gone, calling for her children to follow her. Meanwhile, I held him off with the bit of sword play I had practiced to keep him from following her.
As the shadow lunged at her, I deflected his outreached claw with the Star Sword. Upon strking him, he pulled his injured hand back, hissing at me, "They won't escape me forever child, nor will you protect them!"
With that, it merged with the ground, snaking around me as it fused with my own shadow. As they became one I found myself unable to move. It then emerged before me, breaching my shadow as it were while slashing over me, shredding my clothes in places. I cried out as his slick, ethereal claws dug into my flesh. Then it grabbed my throat, holding me in the air now as it sneered up at me, "What did you think you could do against the Master of Shadows? Asteroth and I will take this kingdom, the dragons will become extinct, and mortals like you will bow before us! You will not escape this time, child!"
"Th-This time?" I choked out.
"You don't remember me, little wisp?" he snickered, "I'm the reason you're a long way from home...or have you shoved that from your memory as well?"
I tried to get free, but only his arm seemed solid as I kicked at him to no avail. He laughed, "Don't worry child, you won't live to see any of what's to come! The wasted power within you will be a wonderful appetizer to the main course ahead!" As it snickered it placed a razor claw near my right eye, "Or perhaps I'll let you live, but you still won't see a thing!"
I could barely manage a protest by this point as he about crushed my windpipe. Still I kicked and fought to get free. I refused to allow any tears to fall as they stung my eyes, refusing to admit that I couldn't stop him...not alone...For what good would come of admitting this to anyone?
Just then, a powerful roar erupted through the caverns, causing his claw to graze me just below my right eye. Blood trickled down my cheek. Yet as he was distracted, I managed to slash at his arm with the Star Sword. The Shadow shrieked with pain as it dropped me, clutching his arm, "You little welp!"
Before it could attack again, I felt the Earth shake as Mother landed firmly behind me.
"You will not hurt my daughter!" Mother snarled, letting out a breath of seering blue flames at the shadow.
The shadow screamed horrifically as flames licked at it's evasive form. Then it laughed as it reached his ethereal hands out and began to absorb the energy around him, almost breathing it in.
"Thank you for the magic boost, it was delicious!" it mocked as it licked it's claws.
"Mother, go with your children!" I ordered as it prepared to lunge at us, "We can't let him get near you!"
"I won't leave you here to die!" She growled.
"Then you both will!" He decreed as he formed a shadowy spear with one of his clawed limbs and rushed at us.
Before I could think, I jumped up, taking the Star Sword as it burst with light. The shadow and light connected, causing us both to be thrown back against opposite walls. Shakily, I got to my feet before feeling a searing pain in my side. Looking down I found a deep gash there, my torn tunic now stained with blood. Placing my other hand over the wound, I looked again as the shadow glared at me, "You're nothing without that sword!"
Unknown to him, I felt my strength beginning to fail me. My injuries and fatigue from the fighting within the kingdom, and now here, were taking their toll as I slid to my knees, dropping the blade on the ground beside me. Yet I still struggled to get back on my feet to remain between Mother and this monster. It wasted not a moment as it lunged at us again. This time his arms merged into two large, shadowed blades to strike us. One blade slashed at me as a reluctant scream tore from my throat. Yet before it could reach Mother, I felt a heat emerging from within me.
"No!" I cried out as suddenly a light burst from my form, causing it to engulf the cavern.
A barrier of heat and light forced the shadow back, before becoming more erratic, flowing out as electricity that lashed out, diminishing his form to a slither with every strike. However, he was also able to absorb some of the magic striking at him, snickering and shrieking all at once in sadistic glee. Before it could be completely pulled apart, this shadow slipped away and into hiding, no doubt to recover it's lost mass before being able to hunt us again.
Then as quickly as it had emerged the light and energy vanished as I dropped to the ground exhausted. I clutched at my chest and side, gasping for breath as I was succumbing to my injuries. My vision grew blurred, then shadowed, and finally black as I collapsed.
"Heart!" I barely heard mother cry out.
Heart:
As we watched the pool, Duke looked to me speechless. I wasn't sure how to respond myself. We then watched as Mother from the past breathed a strange, glimmering breath. Crystals wrapped around my still form until an egg had formed around my still frame.
"It was all I could do to save your life," she said bitterly, " Though I knew one day it would change you, I encased you in that egg of crystal."
She then looked at my current family, "Once she was sealed, I created a barrier around the cavern to keep her away from him. As I thought, Shadow returned, but he could not break my shield. For I had used my own energy to keep it strong."
"Why? I don't understand...?" I stammered.
"When we were hunted long ago, you stopped it. Then when we were threatened again, you nearly gave your life to save us. My child, you were one of very few willing to listen to our plea, to learn that our magic is critical to this realm. Without it...without us...magic as we know it, would perish. Magic users would no longer be born into this world. Not only that, but you understood that the stories of us being wicked beasts were just that...stories to drive fear and strip us of what we used to be."
As she spoke we watched the pool as the crystal egg began to crack after fast forwarded time it seemed.
"After several months you awoke, but unfortunately he was waiting for you, and the magic he knew you possessed."
Suddenly the panic I barely remembered began to return. Shadow chasing me, running away, opening the portal to Puck World...and then... My hands gripped my head as it ached. Soon enough, things around me seemed to spin and blur as I crumbled to my knees. While I could not invision these things, I knew they were true. The dragons, the fight with the shadow, Mother urging me to run when I awoke from that egg, and finally running from him that night. I remembered, and yet didn't at the same time. These were my memories, but after so long they weren't either.
Before I knew it everything went black.
Duke:
"Heart!" I exclaimed as I caught her before she fell to the floor.
"What's wrong? Did her fever get worse?" Wildwing asked
"Nah, I think her memories comin' back overwhelmed her," I answered as I lifted her up into my arms.
"The day she emerged from that egg of crystal, Shadow found her, but I knew she could not stay here forever. I urged her to find a new home, until she could grow stronger. That creature craves the power of the girl in your arms," the dragon warned us, "And so, he will eventually find her to try and take that magic away. If that happens she-"
"That won't happen," I promised sharply.
The dragon then paused as she looked at me sternly, as though she were looking through my very soul. Yet I didn't faulter as I held Heart close to me, feeling her head drop against my chest, as though seeking the comfort she knew. Instead, I held Heart still and looked back at her mother bravely.
"Oh? What will you do to keep your word, thief?" She questioned, the last word having a bite to it.
The others looked at me nervously, but I remained firm in my stance.
"I'll do what I've been doin' since I found her that night! I will fight whatever I have to sta keep her safe!"
"You have no powers, no magic? You just now found out who she really is, and you think you still know her?!" She growled, "I only showed her what I've known of her! There's more to her than I've shown-!"
"We may not know the Heart you did!" Wildwing interrupted, his patience having grown thin by this point, "but we know who she is now! She's our sister!" He placed a hand on Nosedive's shoulder to emphasize.
"You sent her away to find someone, and she found us!" Mallory added.
"That's right," Tanya agreed without a second thought, "she's our teammate!"
"Besides, we've defeated that creep, Asteroth, twice! This shadow monster won't be any different!" Nosedive assured with full confidence.
Grin then rested a hand of support on my own shoulder, "I believe you are misjudging us, especially Duke! You are truly blind if you do not see how much he loves your daughter!"
"That's right, didn't you want her to find someone to make her happy?" Nosedive questioned from my other shouldr now, "Well Duke's the drake for the job!"
She lowered her head now, facing me eye to eye now. As she did she growled fiercely, "Is this so thief? You claim to love her, even now?"
I didn't even blink, nor did I look away.
"Of course I do."
"How can you love her, knowing she's going to change? Knowing she'll be hunted? Knowing that creature plans to steal her away?"
My own memories called to me in this moment. My life of crime, everything that lead up to the very night Heart had left this place. The night I first saw her, not knowing who she was. Unknowingly drawing out a compassion in me I'd somehow held onto through the years of being an outlaw.
These memories were followed by the day we joined the resistance, and the moment I'd gotten the slim chance of meeting her, and how she'd looked at me since.
"We'll find a way to save her from this, an' from him! I swore to her that when her past caught up to her, that I'd face it with her as she did with mine!"
"You didn't know what she was then! Her lost memories turned her into a normal girl! My magic saved her life! She will have little choice but to become one of us and remain here!"
"You won't seal her away here!" I snapped, my anger slipping through my teeth.
"Besides, Heart was never a normal girl!" Nosedive protested, "She never batted an eye at us. She took on a mission that wasn't her own when we joined the resistance back home, but took it on as though it were! She chose to fight and live with us! So we're not leaving her here alone now!"
"You would deny her becoming one of us?! You would dare steal her from her fate?!"
"Yes! I'll steal her from whatever I have to!" I swore gripping Heart tighter in my hands, feeling her head resting over my heart.
Only now, did the dragon's one eye welled with tears as she said gently, "...Thank you."
"What?" Nosedive questioned in shared bewilderment.
"Please save her from the magic I cast upon her," she begged urgently.
"What do I need to do?" I asked.
"Soon the rest of her body will try to change, but if you can stay bonded with her the outcome may change. You see...different types of dragons have different magic. A crystal dragon, like myself, can heal others phyiscally and magically. Heart's shadow, I realized when she collapsed, had been burned away somehow in her confrontation with Shadow. So when he wounded her, she didn't have the spirit to fight back or recover. The egg I encased her within healed both her body and her shadow, but it's magic merged with her own. I knew one day it would take hold of her, and she would beome one of us."
"So ya knew this would happen to her?" I asked.
The dragon nodded regretfully, "That is why I pushed her away. She had to find someone that could anchor her. Otherwise she would change, only to be hunted down by the very people she protected my children from. I didn't want her life to be filled with lonelieness and fear, as very few would advocate for our cause...especially now that Asteroth had damaged our image further. She would be seen as an evil to defeat along with him..." she paused, and then smiled as she took in the sighte of our group standing before her, "However, through her current memories, I can see that in her adventures, she found all of you."
She looked at Heart and I.
"I know what you were; however, I feel who you are now. I see your bond through her recent memories. I can hear her laughter, feel the sting of her tears she's cried for you, and I can sense how much she loves you. Keep her with you, and perhaps you can save her from slipping away?"
"Is that why you called her here?" Grin asked, "Did you sense her changing?"
"Yes. I am so very relieved that I was able to meet those so dear to her at last, as well as help her one last time."
"What do you mean by that?" Wildwing enquired worriedly, picking up on her more than faitgued tone.
"My energy is fading, I used so much to protect all of my children that are now thriving throughout the land again. Even still, I held on knowing I would need to help her once more."
"You don't mean-?" Tanya gasped.
"I have lived for several hundreds of years, and I have grown very tired," she said softly.
She then smiled warmly, "Through her recent memories, I know she has changed. She is stronger through the bond she has made with each of you. And you," she looked at me again, "it's because of you that she hasn't changed already. I knew what my magic would do, but it was the only way to save her life. Please, don't let her go now that you have her. She never admitted it in words...but...I knew...I knew how very lonely she was...She wanted to adventure with others, to have those she could lean on and care for... Now she has found all of you. Please, never take that from her now that she has it."
"I won't," I promised steadily.
It was now that Heart began to stir in my arms. After a moment or two, she opened her eyes. Yet as I looked into them I noticed that they had grown sharper, her irises now darkened and pupils slitted, serpentine in nature.
"Heart? Stay with me, okay?" I pleaded softly as I hugged her.
She returned this gesture as I held her up still, "I...I want to stay with you. I just want to go home, Duke."
She then pulled away as I set her gently on her feet. I watched as Heart walked up to her dragon mother, looking up at her uncertainly.
"Dear child, I have missed you so much," her mother nuzzled her forehead with her own, "Nonetheless, I can not keep you here. This may have been your home long ago, but it isn't anylonger...is it...?"
Heart looked back to us, as though trying to search for the answer she knew, "Guys?"
Surprisingly, Nosedive walked over to her first, "Come on sis, you're one of us. Besides, we still have to capture Dragonus remember?"
Heart nodded in agreement as she began to step towards us again. Her eyes reverted back to their familiar sapphire shade with a blink. Yet as she reached us, and we pulled her into a group hug, the cavern then began to shake violently. Instinctively, I pulled Heart close to me as we heard the crystal wall we'd been allowed through beginning to crack and shatter into pieces.
"He's here! Quick, you must leave! You need to protect her from his hungry claws, and keep her with you!" The dragon pleaded urgently.
"What about you, Mother?" Heart asked fearfully.
"I will hold him off to give you time to escape back to your realm!" She answered.
"No, we're not leaving you to fight that monster for us!" Heart protested, "Not after everything you've done! Not so he can only steal your magic!"
"Heart-" I attempted.
"I won't leave things this way!" Heart snapped, her eyes changing again to that of a dragon's.
"If you fights him it will give him exactly what he wants! You aren't stable enough to face him now! You must get away from here!" her mother pushed back.
Without warning, Grin grabbed Heart as I drew the Star Sword to activate the portal back home.
"No!" Heart shrieked angrily, kicking and fighting to get free of our friend's grip, "Grin, put me down! Please! We can't leave her like this!"
"You'll be lost if you don't go back home!" The dragon growled.
"How is this better?!" Heart demanded as she tried to claw her way out of Grin's grip, "If he gains your magic he'll follow us!"
As she struggled to get free I noticed Heart's feet now had claws grown from them. The ones at her fingertips had grown longer. Also a slashing tail lashed out from her lower back now.
"Heart, stop!" Wildwing ordered sternly, "You're going to lose yourself! All she did would be for nothing if you faught right now!"
"You guys would never run from a fight!" She screamed, "If we leave, she'll die! He will take her magic and grow stronger! We'll be hunted all the quicker!"
"Leave!"
On command I had drawn the Star Sword, but something made me pause. In spite of her anger, Heart had made a good point. If that creature got a hold of her mother, then he would grow stronger.
"Guys, we need to seal off this area first," I said, looking at Heart's desperate expression.
Only now did she calm down slightly. I gave a nod to her.
"What? How?" Nosedive questioned.
I looked around the room, noticing the gem like towers around us.
"I don't know, but if he gains her magic"
"He's made of shadow," Tanya reminded us hesitantly, "He can slip through anything we try to block him off with."
"What can we do?" Mallory asked.
"Leave!" Mother urged us further, "He cannot hop worlds on his own!"
"No!" Heart snapped, finally breaking free from Grin's grip on her.
Now Heart stood, scales completely covering her body beneath her suit. Her now deep sapphire eyes were slitted as she glared at us. Horns were protruding from her forehead. A long blue tail lashed around her wickedly in warning. The claws on her hands scraped the stone pillar beside her as she tried to stable herself.
"Heart, don't do this, don't forget who ya are!" I said to her carefully, "This isn't who you're supposed to be!"
"Then who am I supposed to be? My memories finally come back, and I'm supposed to just run away again?! What if he follows us home from here? Will I have to run from there too?!" she demanded with a growl blending with her voice.
I found myself speechless as I looked at her. I remembered when she had been controlled by the circlet some time ago. Her emotions were raw and tense, almost dangerous, making that lightening strike out around her. Still, I took a step closer to her, scared of not reaching her in more ways than one, "Heart...please..."
"I'm tired of running!" She snapped.
"That's good to hear!" A voice laughed from seemingly nowhere, "I'm quite hungry after being sealed away for so long after all!"
Without hesitation, I rushed to Heart, still holding the Star Sword, and stood in front of her protectively. Our teammates found themselves defending the dragon we had been in the company of the group of us scanning the naturally made room for the opposing figure in vain.
"What a feast I have found!" The voice mocked greedily, "So much magic right here for me at last! You held me off for a while, but now your power is mine, and yours too, you little runaway!"
"I think I'll take the one that has a tendancy to escape my grasp," it hissed with a snicker, "You've had time to let that magic in you grow, and it will be quite useful to me indeed."
"You won't touch her, ya cretin!" I warned.
"Too late-"
"Duke, behind you both!" Wildwing called out to us.
Heart and I turned around quickly to find an ethereal hand reaching out from the wall, grasping for her hungrily. I instantly pulled her away from it as it clenched it's fist in the air, missing her hair it had nearly caught.
"You won't get away this time! There is nowhere you can run where I won't find you now!" It assured her with a cruel laugh.
I grabbed for Heart's hand, yet she pulled away from me again.
"Heart?" I asked as she stepped back towards the hand.
Just then the dragon standing in the center of the cavern thrashed her tail angrily, crashing into the pillars that broke away, causing the shadowy figure to leap away for a solid surface to plant itself upon, "Then I will trap you in here with me! My magic will seal you in here for now while they escape!"
"Stop it, Mother!" Heart pleaded, her suit tearing in the back as new spiked scales grew along her back, joining her tail.
"With the last of my strength, I will save you from his grip one more time! Once my energy is spent he will not be able to claim my magic for his own, and it will pass on to others in this realm yet to be born!" She swore fiercely.
"You'll die!" Heart cried, her teeth growing sharper, "I finally found you, and I'm just going to lose you?!"
It was now that everything clicked.
After going so long not remembering anything, she finally knew a bit of who she was. This Mother of hers was the only one left from that past that she knew of. She was scared of losing that. Of losing that thread, and of losing someone she'd once held so dearly to her, even if she couldn't remember that bond now. Nonetheless, she was afraid of failing her somehow.
So she didn't know how to react or fight back without almost losing herself in all of this spiraling chaos.
"Heart! Ya can't lose yourself! Come back home with us an' we'll-" I attempted while trying to get closer to her, dodging the electricity striking out around her.
"I can't! I can't just leave!" She yelled, dropping to her knees suddenly.
Just then she began to convulse as she clawed at the ground. As I watched her, I noticed something trying to break through between her shoulder blades.
"You don't understand! You can't! I don't!" Her voice grew distorted as she spoke in pieces.
"Heart!" I begged her, falling to my knees and dropping the Star Sword so I could grip her by the shoulders, "Heart, please! Ya have to come back with us! Don't leave us! Don't-"
Suddenly she grasped my shoulders, her new claws digging into me. I gritted my teeth as I held onto her, refusing to slip away from her now. I looked into her eyes to see fear and anguish blending in their blue depths. Then I watched as wings ripped through her back, unfolding as they pushed their way out, leaving her trembling and gasping in their wake.
"Heart?!" I called to her.
"That's right, accept what you are now!" The shadow sneered, it's face now appearing on the pillar beside us, "Become the dragon you were meant to be once you emerged from that egg! You've waited long enough, and so have I!"
"Heart!" I rested my hands against her face, forcing her to look at me, "Heart, please, I know you're scared! I know ya feel lost; but we're right here! We want ya to come home! I want ya to stay with us! You're why I wanted to stay on Earth! I know I can't decide for ya, but...Please Heart! Don't leave me now!"
Heart:
I looked up at the one in front of me, with him gently keeping his hands on my face. One hand softly caressed the hair out of my eyes. I felt him shaking as he looked at me. His gloved hands felt familiar to me. His voice resonated with me. Memories pulled at my heart as I listened to him. Somewhere in the corner of my mind, I tried to remember what he was telling me. Trying to understand why he sounded so afraid, as I'd rarely heard him to be before?
His silouette, as he stepped out of the shadows, warning my captors. His voice giving out a warning to them. Waking up to meet my two brothers and our friend, and former team captain. Growing to love my new home and fighting to defend it. Meeting him again without knowing. Coming to Earth with them. Fighting alongside them. Gaining a family, and falling in love. Discovering who he was befor,e and knowing him now. Everything flooded back to me.
As I looked up at him, I felt tears breaking free. I just wanted to go back to all of that. I didn't want to change! Who I was before didn't matter now! They were my family. He was...
"Duke!" I sobbed as I threw my arms around him.
"Heart, it's okay! We're here for ya, an' we're goin' home with ya," he assured me softly as he embraced me.
Duke then grabbed the Star Sword, a light wrapping around him as he cut through the air to create a portal back to Anaheim.
"Let's go guys!" Wildwing ordered, waving everyone to go through.
"What about her?" Mallory hesitated while looking towards Mother.
"I will keep him from following you. Just please, return home with my daughter!" Mother told us while unleashing a wave of crystalized energy, creating a barrier that pushed the shadow back.
"You can't steal her from me! I will chase her until her magic is in my claws!" The Shadow swore.
Duke smirked at the shadow's claim as he wrapped an arm around my waist, "I can steal anythin', an' I have no intentions of lettin' ya steal her from me."
Something about all of this, how he held me, how the others now gathered around us. It struck a cord deep within me. I looked to my hands and watched as they reverted back. The scales that covered my body fell away. The spikes on my back broke away. After moments all that remained of my change were the wings I had grown, though they were smaller. I looked over my torn suit and felt it's familiar fabric clinging to me like it was a part of my very self.
"Go now!" Mother urged one last time as she let out another blast of energy.
Wildwing then waived everyone on through the portal, getting everyone through one by one. When it came time for Duke and I, I turned to Mother with tears in my eyes.
"I am happy that you are not alone, and that I could see you once more," she said to me with tears in her remaining eye.
"Thank you," I wept as I was carefully pushed through with my older brother taking hold of me from the other side.
Duke:
I looked to the Dragon that Heart called Mother. I knew that this Dragon had been so important to her, and I deeply regreted not being able to help her. I guess she felt that, for she then told me, "You have helped more than you know. The night she had to leave here was the night you found her. From then on, she was set on a path that has shaped who she is now. Thank you for making her so happy. Now please, go and keep her safe! That will be more than enough."
I nodded my head with a promise lingering over to her, "Thank you, an' I will."
With that, I stepped through the portal, and sealed it tight behind me with the Star Sword. Just as the opening closed, I heard an angered scream as Mother trapped him within the caverns with the last of her magic. As the portal faded away, I thought I heard the collapse of the walls and pillars as she fell with one last breath of flame to keep him from following us.
Then there was silence.
We were home, all of us ending up on the roof of the pond.
After a few moments of taking in what all had happened, and checking to make sure we were all accounted for, I noticed Heart falling to her knees as the weight of everything finally took it's toll. Her memories, her transformation back and forth, meeting and losing someone so dear to her in the matter of hours, nearly being hunted down, everything. As she crumbled to her knees, balling up her thin frame, she began to cry into her shaking hands.
All I could think to do at the moment was walk over to her, kneel down in front of her, and pull her into my arms. It wasn't long before our teammates had followed suit and were gathered around us.
"We're here sis," Nosedive told her cheerfully as he patted her shoulder.
"I don't know how to explain it," she sobbed quietly, "I know everything just came back to me, but still... I..."
"It's okay," Mallory assured gently.
"We couldn't save her," she said shakily, "I know she was growing tired, but she shouldn't have had to...had to..Why couldn't I save her?"
"Heart," Wildwing started, "She did that so you could come home with us."
"Mourn for her as long as you need to," Grin told her, "Even without those memories, it's clear she was important to you, and you to her. That is something worth these tears."
It was then that I noticed her small wings folded over her back, the ones I'd been careful not to tug on when I held her against me now, glistening as they faded into her back, and her clothes were mended as her final change vanished. Yet for some reason it didn't seem like they were gone for good, as well as parts of the form she had taken.
"Heart, I think those wings are a gift from her, for her to be with ya in some way," I tried to comfort her.
She looked up at me now bewildered.
"I don't think all of the magic she gave ya is gone. I think it's a part of ya, as it's been all along. Those, an' the ones you were born with were locked away for a while. Now you can use them an' become stronger. Once ya do, if that shadow ever finds ya again, you can fight back. Those wings are her gift to ya sweetheart," I assured her.
At last a slight smile curved her lips, and I gently brushed her tears away for the moment.
"You have some answers now, an' so much more than that. An' after everythin', ya still have all of us," I promised her.
"You're part dragon, that's even cooler!" Nosedive exclaimed, no longer holding back as he tackled his twin into a hug.
"I can't believe you knew Borg back then!" Tanya chuckled with slight surprise.
"You also stood up to Asteroth..." Wildwing realized, hugging her protectively now.
"Maybe one day we can go back and find the other dragons!" Nosedive realized aloud.
"And if that shadow creep rears it's head, we'll be ready for him!" Wildwing promised.
"Guys, you didn't have to...I mean...," Heart stammered.
"That's what teammates do," Grin reminded her.
"You should know that well by now," Mallory teased her.
"This changes so much, doesn't it?" Heart said.
"Not really," her twin said with a shrug, "We were already fighting evil, this is just another thing to fight."
"Besides, you took on a fight for our sake back on Puck World. Now we can do the same for you," Mallory said thoughtfully.
"For now though," I started as I looked out at the setting sun.
Heart looked at me puzzled as I stood up and then offered a hand to her.
Heart:
I then realized what Duke was trying to say. He wanted to remind me once more, that through everything that had just happened, that we were all still together. In spite of the changes that had occured, what was most important was the same. We still called this Earth our home. We still lived at the Pond together, fighting crime as it challenged us. I still had my brothers and sisters, and I still had my thief with me. I had my new wings, but I was still myself. Knowing this, I reached out my hand to him as he closed his securely around it.
With that, the seven of us found ourselves sitting together on the roof, looking out over the city. As the sun set, we watched as the stars came out and the lights of the city spread out as far as we could see. As the sky grew dark, I felt a pounding in my chest while I recalled all that had transpired not only this day, but over the last year. It was so strange to think that after so long of wanting to know about my past, that it hadn't been those memories that had saved me in the end this time. That the memories I had made, since losing my past that one night, were what kept me from slipping away. Yes of course I would always miss, and be thankful, to the one I once I called Mother; but her words wishing me to find someone to steal me away remained in my heart.
At last, I leaned into him as he held me tight. The one that had stolen me away, and had made it possible for all of this to be set in motion. For a moment, his trembling touch as I'd nearly slipped away lingered in my memory as I looked up at him. He seemed to know this, as he pulled me closer to him, resting the chin of his beak over my head.
With a whispered "Thank you", I found myself feeling very much at home again as I watched the stars with everyone still close by. Though tears would still come and go for a while, I wasn't scared anymore, because I was still with the team I was a part of; and we were home.